***THE PRISONER IS AN ADDITION TO THE REPLACEMENT. IT IS A STAND-ALONE NOVELLA INTENDED TO BE READ AFTER THE REPLACEMENT.

My name is Christian Walker, and Elise Duchamp is my drug of choice.

No matter how hard I try to break the habit, it’s a lost cause. Okay, maybe I haven’t really tried to quit this particular habit. All I can think about is owning her. Making her mine. Can you really blame me? With that sinful body, luscious mouth, and wicked tongue, she’s every man’s dream, and she knows it.

No one is immune to her charm, not even me, a man who has everything—a beautiful wife, an office with a view, and more money than most people can spend in one lifetime. Only I know how to make her toes curl. Only I know her body better than the other men she screws in her free time. None of them can compare to me.

But the joke is on me. I’m the prisoner.

The one who will never compare to him. The one man who makes me see red. His name is stored in her cell phone. It’s the first one she calls out to, the first one she cries for when all hell breaks loose. Ryder Jacobson.

The name makes me cringe.

She loves him, and I love her. In my own way, I always will. But the bad guy doesn’t always belong with the bad girl. Sometimes the bad girl needs a good man to believe in her, to give her that final push toward ultimate transformation. I wish I was that good man. That I could be her happily ever after. I guess that’s the thing about prisoners, though. They’re left alone with their torment, and in the end, they have no one to blame but themselves.

A gritty New Adult drama about a young woman’s self-destructive quest to find purpose, self-worth, and love in a broken world.

My name is Elise Duchamp. I’m twenty-three years old and I’m known as the town whore.

No, not the kind who exchanges sexual favors for money. The other kind. The kind who gives it all away for free, whenever and however she likes. I am that girl. The one everyone whispers about and the one none of the girls seem to like, because all of their boyfriends either want to sleep with me or already have. Promiscuity is my thing—the kind that slowly, violently turns my insides black, but gives me something I need.

All things considered, I’m not completely reckless. I’m safe, and contrary to popular opinion, I do have a heart. I live in a world of careless choices, and with those choices come careless people. I cannot judge them, because I am one of them. I too bow down to the altar of the self-serving. I am not a good friend. I am not and never could be anyone’s girlfriend. I’m convinced any goodness in me shriveled up and died long ago.

But I am a replacement. That is something I know how to be, and this is a story of the lengths I’d go to in order to keep it that way.

Rachael Wade is the Amazon bestselling author of The Preservation Series, The Resistance Trilogy, and the upcoming sci-fi series, The Keepers Trilogy. When she’s not writing, she’s busy learning French, watching too many movies, and learning how to protect animals and the environment. Visit her at www.RachaelWade.com and www.LightsOnOutreach.com, or come chat with her on Twitter via @RachaelWade

Thursday, 24 July 2014

A contemporary romantic drama about loss, healing, and love's ability to reach beyond scars and secrets, no matter how deep or hidden.

WARNING: This book is intended for 18+ readers ONLY. Potentially triggering content and concepts in books to follow.

More than a year after the death of his best friend, Josh is still tormented by the past. Everything changes when free-spirited Willow barges into his life. She challenges him, helps him feel something other than the overwhelming pain, sadness, and anger.

There’s just one problem.

Underneath that carefree spirit, Willow is elusive and secretive. Josh believes she may be fighting a few demons of her own, but the harder he tries to uncover the truth, the more she pushes him away.

Can Josh get her to open up before it’s too late? Or will he discover that some secrets are better left untold?

*I Hereby Award This Book 5 Wings!*

I was given the opportunity to read TORTURED and let me tell
you, I am so glad I did. It is one of the best books I have read so far in
2014.

Being a debut novel, I was absolutely blown away. Kate
Givans writes like an author that has many more books under her belt than just
this one. She writes like she has been doing it for years. Her style is easy to
fall into and is beautiful in its simplicity.

I have two published books myself, yet after reading
Tortured, it has made me aspire to be a better writer. This story was powerful,
emotional and felt very real. For me, there is nothing better than feeling like
I have stepped into the pages of somebody else’s life.

For me, reading is escaping from reality for a while, being
transported to live amongst the pages with the characters. Tortured pulled me
in from the very first word and did not let go of me even at the end of the
story. I want more and I want it now!

This story sailed a little close to home for me at times—not
that I have been in the exact same position as Josh and Willow, but at times,
things had me thinking back to my youth. Whilst I enjoy escaping reality in the
pages of a story, sometimes, things can take me back to a time that wasn’t so
pleasant for me. But that is actually what brought me closer to the characters.
The subject matter of this book and the way the characters interact makes it
very tangible and real.

I’m sitting here wondering how I can convince you to pick up
a copy of Tortured for yourself, but not give too much away. Nobody likes
spoilers, right?!

I enjoyed that it was written from Josh’s POV. I haven’t
read too many books that are written by a woman and yet are in the male POV. Kate
Givans managed to pull it perfectly. If I didn’t know a woman had written it before
I read it, I would surely have believed it was written by a man.

Anyway, onto the story
itself…

Josh is still in mourning over the loss of his best friend a
year ago. He is tormenting himself, believing it was all his fault. The emotional
roller coaster that he is on only becomes more of a loop-de-loop ride when
Willow comes waltzing into his life.

Willow is carefree, beautiful and free-spirited and when the
two collide, something inside Josh is awoken and he starts to come slowly back
to life. Willow helps him try to overcome his guilt and the loss of his friend.

Willow is very nomadic, almost gypsy-like in the way that
she never stays in one place for very long. But this time, she wants to stay
around long enough that she can help Josh.

The two are good together but Willow is keeping secrets and
we all know what happens when we hold our cards close to our chest, never letting
those that love us in. Things become complicated and messy.

The couple are in very different places in their lives, yet
when they are together, that is where they are meant to be.

Josh tries to uncover more about Willow’s past, but the
harder he pushes, the more she closes him down. She wants him to open up to
her, wants to help him overcome his demons and yet she won’t let him do the
same for her. This is very frustrating for Josh because he wants to know the
real Willow, to know what she is hiding.

Will Josh get Willow to open up to him? Can Willow help Josh
fight his demons to the point where he stops blaming himself? To answer these questions,
you need to pick up a copy of Tortured for yourself. Trust me, you won’t be
sorry you did.

Thank you Kate for giving me an ARC and allowing me to participate
in your blog tour. I am beyond grateful that I was allowed to read this amazing
story early. Congratulations on a debut novel to be extremely proud of and I hope Willow's story is out soon so that I can learn more about her. You created two characters that really drew me in and I can't wait for more.

Thank you to all of you who came by to read my review. Hope
to see you again soon!

I Was Awarded...

I Was Given The Liebster Blog Award

Gothic Angel's Goodreads Shelf

About Me

My name is Keren. I am a 30 year old mom of 1. His name is Calum and he is 6.
Reading is pretty much in my blood and I have been reading since I knew what the written word was. I used to be the biggest Stephen King and Dean Koontz fan but have now broadened my horizons and my tastes encompass a lot of things. I have very eclectic taste in life in general. From the Gothic, to the more girly.
I am a big lover of Indie Authors such as Nancy Straight, Rachael Wade, Selene Chardou, Kate Laurens, Jo A Cattell and far too many others to name.
I have just signed a publishing contract with Limitless Publishing for a YA Paranormal Romance I have just finished writing called Stolen.